Or, against Utah State, hearing the boos ring out to welcome a
University of Oregon quarterback in his second game at Autzen Stadium, a
kid who'd done practically everything right until he fumbled.

Or seeing a fan taking a leak in a homeowner's shrubs just off
Garden Way and a neighbor swearing at the guy, threatening to call the
cops, and the leaker acting as if the homeowner was infringing on his
constitutional right to keep and bare - well, you get the idea.

All I know is that after two UO football games, I'm already
tired of fans who think what they need is another beer when what they
really need is a life.

I'm all for getting wild and crazy at games, but I've
never had much tolerance for folks who, say, think it's cool to
chant "F--- the Huskies." And I have even less tolerance after
watching the Olympic Trials in Eugene this summer, an experience that
reminded me of how classy sports fans can be.

Number of fans ejected by Eugene police from Hayward Field in eight
days of the Olympic Trials: None.

Number of fans ejected in UO's first two home football games:
90, or 163 if you throw in the UO Department of Public Safety's
stats.

"Football fans and track fans are very different
dynamics," says Eugene Police Capt. Steve Swenson, who worked
Hayward and Autzen.

Most notably, track and field fans respect the athletes
they're watching and the fellow fans around them. Too many UO
football fans respect nobody beyond themselves, a sad irony given their
classless behavior.

Their "it's-all-about-me" act has grown way old. In
particular, the student section's f-bomb chants have gone far
beyond the defense of "those wacky college kids."

The problem here isn't a lack of police, security or attention
to the matter from the UO Athletic Department. Autzen is crawling with
cops and blue windbreakers. Punishment has stiffened for those who are
ejected.

Of course, when you suggest as much, the offenders - see local
sports blogs - will counter with a defense that leaks more than Utah
State's: Fans at other schools act way worse than us, they'll
say.

First, having been in a few such venues, I'd argue that some
UO fans behave at least as badly as fans elsewhere. (The literal
swinging of dead ducks outside OSU's Reser Stadium notwithstanding.)

Second, even if we assume there could possibly be a lower rung on
the bad-taste ladder, why would we somehow think we need to lower
ourselves to it?

"I'm a student and I'm often embarrassed, most often
by drunk UO students," wrote one blogger.

As for fans who justify their over-the-top behavior by their simple
passion to win, I've got news: You're not helping the cause.
After the national publicity UO gained last winter for its Mac Court
attack on UCLA's Kevin Love - a Sports Illustrated story led with
the anecdote about rude signs and chants aimed at him - do you think
some blue-chip high schooler is going to find UO all the more
attractive?

Nobody's asking Autzen fans to become duck-lipped church mice.
Sports should offer a release. But there's a fine line between
wildness and crassness.

If you don't know where the line is, ask yourself if
you'd mind people, say, dropping f-bombs on you or peeing on your
shrubs.

Or notice how much track fans enjoy their sport without being
boorish or blitzed.

Bottom line: The only people who find rudeness cool are other rude
people. So do the rest of us a favor:

Grow up.

Bob Welch is at 338-2354 and bob.welch@registerguard.com. His blog
is at www.registerguard.com/blogs.

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